Cold Sacrifice
by Cap55
Summary: "I am growing tired of you standing in my way. I am going to have to do something drastic to take care of this little problem between us." Zemo scowls. "You can keep trying, but be sure to bring your worst, Zemo," Steve glares. "Because I'll always be here to stand between you and the people you mean to harm." "That is why I simply cannot allow you to Iive any longer" he laughs


DISCLAIMER: I, sadly, do not own the Avengers and they are property of Disney. No copyright infringement is intended and no money or profit was made by this story.

The arctic. Why did it have to be the arctic?

Bodies are laying everywhere. Some familiar faces and some complete strangers, but there are mounds of them. Steve sees men from his unit that are standing in front of him. He's trying to run to them, but they're all shot down, ripped limb from limb, or just disintegrated by the ruthless Hydra weapons before he reaches them. Steve falls to his knees in grief as darkness and cold surrounds his body. There are no bodies anymore. No light. No sound. There's only the fear and panic rising in his chest as he feels himself sinking deeper and deeper, his body not able to do anything to help himself or to cry out for help. He's powerless to stop his fate and there's no one there to help him. even though there is only darkness, his body tells him that his world is spinning until his vision lands on a small circle of light that is distorted by ripples and waves as it breaks through the darkness. He wants so badly to return to the sun, to the surface. It starts to drift farther and farther away as Steve is struggling to return to it. Despite his fighting, he's only dragged further and further down and away from the sun and it's warmth.

"Rogers!" His name is shouted and shatters the cold abyss surrounding him only a second earlier.

"What?" Steve asks mindlessly, shaking himself out of his waking nightmare and shifting his gaze from the window of the Quinjet to Tony who is sitting next to him in the pilot's seat.

"I _said_, 'Why so quiet, shrinking violet?'" Tony asks with a raised brow. Steve looks confused. "What's wrong?" he asks more directly, clearly seeing that his witty rhyming comment was totally wasted on Steve.

"Nothing," Steve says simply, returning his eyes to the window and the flurries of snow.

"That was super convincing," Tony says sarcastically. "You know, you can keep up the one word answers, but you and I both know that there's something bothering you. And you know that I can keep this conversation going even without your assistance. Maybe you've got a bad case of indigestion? Does Captain America get indigestion? You know we have modern medicine now that takes care of things like that. The doctors don't use things like leaches and saws anymore to treat people. But, I am pretty sure that Captain America doesn't get sick, so it must be something else. Girl problems? No, you'd have to have a girl to have girl problems. Financial concerns? You know I can help you with that, since I'm a billionaire and all. If you need a buck or two Steve, I am there for you. Except that you don't care about material possessions and you live in my house, so you obviously have no housing problems."

"Tony!" Steve shouts, no longer able to ignore the man's obnoxious one-sided conversation.

"Are you nervous about the mission?"

"No" Steve replies and pinches the bridge of his nose, fighting off a Tony-induced headache.

"You haven't said a word since we left the Helicarrier."

"Not everyone talks as much as you do, Tony. Some people like quiet."

"And that is why the world needs Tony Stark. I make life interesting." Tony smiles. Steve stares at Tony for a moment and goes back to staring out the window. "Hey," Tony starts again. "Listen, this Zemo character has got nothing on us. I know he was some big baddie back in your day, but he doesn't stand a chance against the Avengers. We're going to go over there, kick ass and takes names, and throw his hooded face in a SHIELD cell for good."

"That's not it, and it's not going to be that easy," Steve warns. "I've fought this guy before, Tony. He's ruthless, dangerous, and pure evil. There is no hesitation, no mercy, no second thought with him. He won't hesitate to destroy everything if it gets him what he wants. He even destroyed his own people in his selfishness back in the war."

"It is that easy, Steve." Tony says with his usual confidence. "Any kind of tech or weapons this guy has, he's got nothing on me. Plus we've got a thunder god, 2 master assassins, a giant green rage monster and _Captain America._"

"Captain America may not be enough with this one," Steve says, his eyes distant again. "He's not been enough more than once in the past with this monster."

"Well, he was going at it without the Avengers the last time," Tony replies and puts a fist on his hip, smiles a cocky smile, and sticks his chest out in a display of manly bravado while still piloting the ship. Steve stares at him blankly with an eyebrow raised, clearly not in the mood to deal with Tony's usual antics. "Are you sure that's all that's bothering you right now Captain Uptight? You're even more humorless than usual today."

"I'm not bothered, Tony." Steve snaps back, obviously annoyed. "I'm just thinking."

"About the ice?" Tony's remark is blunt and to the point, as usual.

Steve shoots Tony a surprised and slightly hurt look. Tony was a goof, but he had gotten to know Steve and his subtle tells and he wasn't afraid to call him out.

"You and Clint aren't the only ones who reads files. I was there when we pulled you out of the ice. I've read your psych evals and it doesn't take a professional psychiatrist to know that the ice probably bothers you."

"It's not a big deal. I've got it under control," Steve says and Tony is trying to decide if he's trying to convince him or himself. The rest of the flight is done in silence. They're getting ready to land a short way from the coordinates that SHIELD's intel had said Zemo was hiding out and possibly starting to create weapons for his war. The cloaked jet lands and the back hatch of the jet opens. Instantly, a bitterly cold wind and snow rush in and steals away every drop of warmth in the Quinjet. Steve's body instantly tenses and shivers as soon as the unforgiving, cold air hits him. Steve does his usual man-up-and-deal-with-it routine and tries to gather his thoughts.

Since Thor, Tony, and Hulk aren't exactly stealthy, Steve, Clint and Natasha make their way toward the base to try to scout out the terrain. After what feels like an eternity of walking in the knee deep snow through a dense forest, they find the compound. It is difficult to see through the blowing snow and wind.

The buildings are surrounded by a large number of soldiers patrolling the buildings. The base is almost entirely open with little to no cover except for the tree line that surrounds it. It's going to be nearly impossible to break in unnoticed. 'Nearly' was the key word here. Steve knows he can get inside without being seen. He decides to run a scouting mission. Clint and Natasha agree to stay behind on the top of the hill to cover Steve if he needs it.

Once Steve is down the hill, he makes his way through the trees and stealthily heads toward the compound, careful to avoid the eyes of the patrolling soldiers. He silently and skillfully ducks, rolls and runs between buildings and jeeps and stacks of wooden crates and gets closer and closer to the heart of the compound. He sees a building that a large group of soldiers are going into with at least sixty people in chains, the men and women being herded into the building. The prisoners are thin and poorly clothed against the harsh weather. One of the guards shoves the butt of his rifle into the back of one of the men that he thought was moving too slowly. Judging by the bruises and cuts on the other prisoners, this isn't the first act of violence committed against these people. His missions is supposed to be to gather intel and return to his team, but harming defenseless people is something that he can't and won't ignore. He focuses his anger and quickly makes his way over to the building. The extreme cold is beginning to soak through his suit and he can feel it starting to touch his skin. He shivers and pushes back the memories of the cold ocean creeping up in his mind. He pulls off his shield and holds it at the ready, preparing for a fight.

Steve cautiously enters the building and walks into the dark room. Ahead of him is a large window and two guards are sitting in seats looking at something beyond the glass. With one swift move, Steve slams his shield into the first soldier, immediately sending the man to the floor. The second quickly stands and charges, but a lightning fast right hook makes short work of him. With the two soldiers down, Steve peers through the window and nearly drops his jaw at what he sees. There are a dozen prisoners in four separate clear, glass chambers and the rest are lined up against a wall with a row of guns trained on them. Zemo is pacing arrogantly behind his line of soldiers. The warehouse is huge, at least the size of two football fields and there are wooden crates everywhere. Steve presses a comm-link button on the control panel in front of him so he can hear what he's saying.

"….and sacrifices must be made for a greater good," Zemo's voice comes through the speaker in the observation room, still as cruel and heartless as it was 70 years ago. "You have the honor of making that sacrifice today. Your deaths will help push our vision forward by helping us see what our new weapons can do. These weapons that have been painstakingly developed by our scientists to take down our number one threat. The man who stands between us and victory!"

Zemo gives a soldier near the clear chambers a nod and instantly a thick, red gas fills the space. The people inside instantly collapse into heaps on the floor. Steve can't believe how potent the substance is to kill that quickly. Zemo raises his hand as the soldiers take aim at the remaining prisoners. Steve acts out of anger and instinct and crashes through the window, landing gracefully to the floor below. The soldiers and Zemo instantly bring their stare to the Super Soldier with shock and surprise on their faces. Steve throws his shield down the line of soldiers, knocking the weapons out of half of the soldier's hands. The shield ricochets off of a wall and Steve catches it as he sprints towards the enemy. He jumps and launches himself into the line of enemy soldiers and knocks three of them down. The hostages instantly scatter, trying to find cover and a way of escape. Zemo's men instantly swarm him and he throws calculated punch after punch and his shield is ringing as it makes contact with it's target. Captain America dodges and blocks each feeble attack that the enemy throws at him. He makes short work of the firing line, but is quickly knocked back into a wall by an unseen force. His left arm is burning and he looks down to see that a large portion of his sleeve on his upper arm is gone and his skin is a mixture of red and black with blisters popping up throughout the wound. He struggles to his feet and turns to see what hit him. Zemo is standing in front of him with a large gun with smoke rising from the barrel.

"Welcome Captain," Zemo says from behind the gun, his eyes twinkling through his hood, cruel and twisted. "I was not expecting you so soon, but it is of little matter. I am so glad that you have decided to bring yourself to me instead of me having to lure you here. What do you think of my new weapons. Affective, are they not?" He nods over to the bodies in the chambers.

"What are you up to Zemo," Steve yells as he stands to his full height, shield ready. "What kind of sick plan has you killing helpless hostages?" Steve's voice is full of fury. There's little else that makes him angrier than killing innocents.

"Oh, but Captain," Zemo smirks. "This is all for you." He lifts his one arm up to gesture at the large warehouse and crates that are undoubtedly filled with more weapons, while keeping the other arm on the gun trained on Steve. "All of this just to help me develop weapons to take care of you, the perpetual thorn in my side. But I had to test them to make sure that they are as deadly as my scientists say they are. If they are able to inflict half the devastation they bring to a normal human to a super soldier, I will be very pleased. Based on the lovely state of your arm, I think that I have a success on my hands. But don't worry, Captain. I don't want you dead. Yet. Just a little more cooperative." Zemo grabs a device off of his belt and throws it at the soldier. Steve raises his shield in defense when it bursts into the red gas that was in the chambers of the prisoners. Steve coughs and falls to his knees. The room is spinning as he tries to catch his breath. His vision is blurring and darkness starts to creep into the edges of his sight. Zemo stands over him, obviously pleased.

"Not even you can metabolize my knock out gas fast enough to fully block its effects," He laughs. "As I am sure you saw, it is rather potent and kills those who aren't super soldiers rather quickly, but with you it should be just enough to keep you down until I can harvest what I need from you to create my own super soldier army!" Steve vaguely hears a wall crumble across the other side of the vast warehouse as the Hulk stomps in. With a mighty clap of his hands he sends soldiers flying back. The force of the attack also dissipates the residual knock out gas surrounding Steve and fresh air is finally brought into his lungs. Clint and Natasha are in next, arrows and bullets fly into the air as the soldiers scatter to find cover.

"We got tired of waiting for you, Rogers," Clint says over the communicator. "Decided we would invite ourselves in."

Zemo is angry. Steve can tell and that brings a smile to his face. He ignores the tilting floor and the overwhelming urge to just lay down and sleep and drives his shoulder into Zemo as hard as he can, tackling him to the ground. Zemo quickly recovers and kicks the Super Soldier back. He picks himself up and draws his sword. Steve skids back and raises his shield. Zemo rushes him and strikes the shield, sending a ring through the room. Steve drops to a knee as he struggles to hold the shield up against the force. His reaction time has been slowed and his strength is wavering from the gas. He knows he needs to finish this quickly, but before he can make a move, Zemo pulls his sword from the shield and takes a swipe at Steve and he barely avoids the blade. Lightning streaks from the sky and sends Zemo flying back, breaking off the unrelenting attack. Steve looks up to see Thor flying past over head and landing roughly into a large group of enemy soldiers.

Iron Man blasts into the building through the ceiling, repulsers flying, missiles shooting. Tony was always good for a flashy entrance whenever possible. Zemo sees that he is being over run and that his odds of winning this battle are clearly declining.

"You have made powerful friends, Captain. I was hoping to capture you today, but clearly I am being denied of my desire and, yet again, it is because of you."

"Always happy to be of help," Captain America smiles. Zemo suddenly smiles back and makes a mad dash back to the door to the observation room. Something isn't right. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a flashing red light shining through a gap in the panels of one of the wooden crates. Steve wills himself to stand and brings his hand up to his communicator in his ear.

"Clear out!" He orders. "Everyone, get out of the building. Now!" The Avengers stop what they are doing and look in Captain America's direction. "Hawkeye, Widow, gather up as many of the hostages you can and get them out of here. Call SHIELD for back up and emergency evac for the hostages! Thor, give him some cover. Hulk, clear the way for them! Iron Man, give them some air support!"

"What about you?" Iron Man yells over the noise.

"I'm going after Zemo."

Zemo has made his way toward the door through all the chaos. His hand reaches for the latch when a blur of red, white, and blue flies into the handle, shattering it. Zemo turns and sees Captain America running at him as he catches his shield. The Soldier throws a punch at Zemo's face, but he ducks and the hit misses it's mark. Zemo draws his sword and the two circle each other, each on their guard.

"You know, Captain," Zemo starts as he holds his sword up and points it at him. "I am getting tired of you constantly standing in my way. I think I am going to have to do something drastic to take care of this little problem between us."

"You can keep trying, but be sure to bring your worst, Zemo," Steve glares. "Because I'll be here. I'll always be here to stand between you and the people you mean to harm for your own selfish motives."

"See, that is why I simply can't allow you to live any longer, Captain," Zemo pulls out a gun and fires at Captain America, but the bullets are no match against his shield. Steve lowers his shield and prepares to attack, but is caught off guard when Zemo charges at him. His sword swings and Steve jumps back to dodge the sword again, but this time he knocked off balance and Zemo jumps and knocks him back onto a large metal grate on the floor. Steve lands roughly on his back and before he can recover Zemo is on him as he drives his sword into his shoulder. Steve cries out as Zemo drives it deeper still. He ignores the burning in his shoulder and kicks Zemo off of him, but he's pinned by the sword that was driven deep into metal grating under him. Zemo circles him with an evil smirk.

"You see Captain," He smiles as he brings his face close to his. "I am determined to get what I want and you, unfortunately, are in my way. So, that means that you must be destroyed. That shoulder might heal quickly with your super solder serum, but the poison the blade was dipped in will not be so easy to bounce back from." Steve tries to pull himself up from the grate, but only strains in pain as the sword pulls on his shoulder. "But just in case you somehow survive my poison, I will give myself a little insurance. The hooded man drives a direct punch into Steve's ribs and the wind is knocked out of him. Steve can hear Tony yelling something at him in the background. Zemo is standing over him again as Steve struggles not to pass out. A sharp pain hits his lower left side as a dagger is shoved into his flank. "Your constant meddling and the unforgivable crime you committed against me in Germany all those years ago must be punished, Captain. Are you prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice yet again?" Steve looks up to see the barrel of a gun pointed in his face when something red and gold flies past and Zemo is thrown through a door. He struggles back up and looks at Iron Man with a smile.

"Iron Man," he hisses. "You were not invited. This is a private affair between the Captain and I."

"Sorry, I decided to crash the party," He says and stands between him and Captain America. "Normally I require a two week advance notice to show up at an event, so you should be thanking me really."

"Here," Zemo says with a step forward. "Allow me to give you a parting gift for your generosity." Zemo hits a button on a remote he pulls from his belt. Boxes throughout the warehouse begin to explode and Zemo disappears through the broken door with an evil laugh to make a clean escape.

"Hey, are you still with me?" Tony asks as he studies the sword sticking out of Steve's shoulder.

"Not getting rid of me that easily," Steve replies through ragged breathing.

"This is going to hurt. A lot," Tony warns as he grasps the hilt of the sword. "Are you ready?" Steve closes his eyes, grits his teeth and nods. With one swift motion, Iron Man pulls the sword out of Steve's shoulder as a rush of blood starts to flow out. Steve yells through clinched teeth and breathes in sharp, quick breaths as his body relaxes against the metal grate.

"So does this mean that I'm king of Camelot now?" Tony asks, throwing the sword aside and pressing down on Steve's shoulder.

More boxes explode and fire is spreading through the warehouse. A hanging catwalk has a few of its supports blown by one of the explosions. The burning mass of metal threatens to fall, crushing the Avengers below who are leading the hostages out as they fight through the army of soldiers that have flooded the building. The fire is advancing toward them and the enemy is not letting up. Thor is fighting to keep the relentless wave of enemy soldiers at bay. Clint and Natasha are protecting the hostages from the constant attack that is pinning them against a wall. Hulk is a couple hundred yards away trying to keep a large tank from advancing toward the group as he pushes it back and bends the barrel of the tank.

"Tony," Steve groans as he struggles to stand. "Go."

"No way, you need medical and I'm not letting you pull some "self-sacrificing" bullshit right now."

"I can walk, I'll be right behind you. You need to help them or they're going to be crushed. Now Go!" Steve orders. Tony reluctantly blasts across the building and catches the catwalk before it crushes the hostages. He turns back to see if he can see Steve across the warehouse. Another explosion rocks the building as a corner of the building goes up in smoke. Hulk tries to block the people and Avengers from the flying debris as he continues to hold the tank at bay. A large piece of concrete hits Iron Man and knocks him down to the floor. The catwalk rains down metal debris from above as both Avengers and hostages try to avoid the metal chunks. Fire is quickly spreading through the wooden crates in the building, setting off multiple smaller explosions.

"Hulk!" Clint yells as he fires his last arrow and pulls out a pair of daggers from behind his back. "Quit messing around with that thing and finish it. We need a door over here!"

Hulk strains as he starts to lift the tank off of it's treads and flips it on its back in a final push of strength. The green rage monster then makes his way back to his teammates and obliges Clint with a door as he punches out a large hole in the back wall. The hostages start to flood out and the remaining Avengers continue to hold off the attack

Tony has made his way out from under a pile of rusted, burned metal and tries to gather his bearings. He spots Steve about 150 yards away struggling to make his way back toward his team when another explosion rocks the building, knocking Steve off of his feet and onto his knees.

"Get everyone out of here, Iron Man," Steve's strained voice comes over the comm-link. "This place is going up, keep them covered as they're exiting the building."

"We're not leaving without you, Rogers," Tony yells back.

"I'm on my way out. Keep your focus on the hostages. We don't know if there are more soldiers out there waiting for them!" Steve demands.

Tony lets out a frustrated sigh as he blasts out to the outside where hostages are scattering from a small group of armed soldiers. He fires missiles and repulser beams at the soldiers, trying to cover the escape of the people as much as possible.

"Avengers," Tony comes over the communicator. " We need crowd control out here. Our people are getting vaporized!" Clint and Natasha exit out the building and start gathering the hostages again and leading them to the cover of the tree line. Iron Man keeps the soldiers off their backs and continues to fire. Hulk, after finishing off the remaining army in the warehouse, finally jumps on the scene and starts doing what he does best; smashing. Thor is by his side, taking out soldier after soldier. The other Avengers have the situation under control and Tony returns to the burning building to help Captain America. He blasts in from the ceiling and the fire and smoke have intensified a great deal. The warehouse if foggy with smoke and the heat is intense.

"JARVIS, where's Captain America."

"Approximately 40 yards behind you sir," the AI informs. Tony quickly turns and sees Steve stumbling through the smoke with his injured arm held tightly to his chest.

"Steve," He yells as he flies over.

"Did we get everyone out? Where are the rest of the team?" Steve coughs through the overwhelming smoke.

"They're all outside and we've gathered as many of the hostages as we're going to be able to. Let's get out of here before this whole place goes up." As they are about to blast out of the burning building, another blast knocks them off their feet. Iron Man takes the brunt of the blast as he shields Steve. They both fly back into a nearby wall. Iron Man pulls himself up and grab's Steve up off of the floor. Tony tries to fire the suit's thrusters, but nothing happens.

"JARVIS," Tony yells.

"Sir, the thrusters and multiple internal systems were damaged by the last blast"

"Great," Tony grunts. "Come on Cap, we need to haul ass here."

"Tony, look out!" Steve warns as a huge heating duct comes crashing down from the ceiling. Steve pushes Tony out of the way and raises his shield to block the huge structure as it crashes down on him.

"Steve!" Tony yells, picking himself up off the floor. He rushes over and starts digging through the burning debris. "Dammit, Steve. Where the hell are you?" Tony lifts a large chunk of metal duct work and throws it aside and catches a glimpse of red, white, and blue peeking out from under the metal debris. He digs deeper and finds Steve knocked out, but alive thanks to his shield. "Come on, Spangles. We need to get out of here." He throws Steve over his shoulder and the two run for the exit. They make it outside just as the building goes completely up in smoke and fire. Outside the air is frigid and windy. The other Avengers have made it to the tree line and the hostages are being loaded into the awaiting Quinjets that were called in. Another huge explosion rocks the ground and the building is demolished. The blast throws the two forward into the snow. Tony cringes when he hears a crack in the ground under him. He pushes himself up and looks around. Another loud crack and the ground under the two men shakes.

"You've got to be kidding me," Tony whispers. He grabs Steve up again as the now semi-conscious soldier collapses under his weak legs. "Don't give up on me now, Soldier! We need to move it! Now!" The two start to make their way to the other Avengers as the ground beneath them starts to fall away, revealing the large underground ice cave that the compound was unknowingly built on top of. The intense heat and the force of the explosion has destabilized the roof of the cave. The other Avengers realize what's happening and Thor quickly swings Mjolnir and flies toward the two men, but before he can reach his teammates, the ground breaks open and falls out from under them.

"No!" Thor yells as he reaches out to Tony, but misses by inches. He watches helplessly as the two men fall into an under ground river flowing through the ice cave. He tries to dive down to grab them as they are swept down river, but he's blocked by falling debris and ice.

Steve and Tony hit the freezing cold water and are swept down stream as Tony struggles to keep himself above water and he's lost track of Steve. The river is flowing swiftly and he is dodging small spikes of ice jutting up out of the water. He tries to make it to the edge, but the water is too fast. He finally spots Steve ahead of him, fighting to stay afloat against the current sweeping him under. Suddenly, Steve is gone and Tony sees why; a huge water fall is coming up faster than he can escape. He flows over the edge and free falls into the pool of water below. Tony frantically swims back to the surface and searches for Steve. He sees the other man barely hanging on to a chunk of debris floating in the gentle water. Tony quickly swims over to his side. "Steve!" he calls, but there's no response. He makes it over to the other man's side. Steve had managed to pull himself onto the debris up to his chest as the rest of his body drifts in the icy water. His head is tipped to the side and his arms are flung up over his head. The injured Super Soldier nearly slips off his small life raft before Tony catches him and swims them both to the shore. He pulls Steve's drenched and battered body from the icy water and they both collapse on the rocky shore. Tony lays there for a moment, trying to catch his breath as he stares at the ceiling of the cave. It's full of giant icicles and has an amazing range of deep blue shades. It would have been beautiful if it were not for their current predicament. He turns his head to check on the injured Captain America next to him, relieved to see the shakey rise and fall of his chest.

"Okay, maybe that guy was tougher than I had though," Tony says to the man next to him. "Let's not throw around words like "wrong" or "I told you so" or anything like that. Instead, lets just lay here for a minute." No argument comes, and the two lay on the rocky beach for some time.

Steve is suddenly aware of the severe soreness all throughout his body despite the numbing cold surrounding him. He shivers against the freezing air. Through the fog and the pain he can hear someone calling his name. It sounds distant and panicked. Steve shifts a bit and tries to call back, but only a weak moan escapes him. Darkness threatens to pull him back down into unconsciousness when something begins shaking his sore body roughly. He's so tired and uncomfortable. All he wants to do right now is sleep and whatever is shaking him is starting to annoy him. He manages to crack his eyes open as a blurry image appears in front of him.

"Steve! Wake up, dammit," the fuzzy image demands, its form rattles in front of him as he is shaken again. Slowly, the smear of red, gold, and black begins to come into focus. Tony's worried brown eyes are staring down at him.

""Are you ever not talking?…" the dizzy and exhausted super soldier asks. He barely recognizes his own voice. It's rough and hoarse and it echoes through wherever it is that he is.

"Oh thank God," Tony sighs in relief. "And no, there's always something brilliant being said by me."

"That's just great," Steve mumbles and closes his eyes.

"Hey, don't get too comfortable," Tony pulls Steve up, supporting him with an arm behind his shoulders. "Are you with me, soldier?"

"Yeah, Tony," Steve nods weakly, but his head begins to fall back as his eyes start to roll, not able to hang on to consciousness any longer. "Oh no you don't," Tony yells. "Steve, stay awake! No sleeping!" Tony grabs Steve's shoulders and keeps shaking his listless body. There's no response and Tony slaps Steve across his face in a final act of desperation. Steve gasps sharply at the shock of the strike and his eyes quickly snap open. He winces at the sudden movement as a wave of pain washes over his body.

"Sorry, Spangles," Tony says.

"Just let me sleep, Tony," Steve half orders and half pleads with the persistent billionaire.

"No can do, Cap," Tony replies. "You're full of holes from Zemo and if you fall asleep again I'm not sure I'll be able to wake you up again. To add on top of that, my suit's propulsion system and navigation are offline and our communicators aren't working. We fell into some kind of under ground ice cave and were swept down river into this cavern." Steve shifts his weight to try to look around at their surroundings, but his attempt is quickly stopped by the throbbing pain in his shoulder and side. He winces and breaths through it, trying to get the injuries to calm down. "Hey, lay still. That bastard got you good with his sword." Tony had taken stock of Steve's injuries while he was unconscious. He didn't dare pull out the dagger for fear of the torrent of blood that would follow.

"So….whats…what's the plan?" Steve asks through shivers. He's not sure if the room is getting colder or if he's just now realizing how cold he is. The pull of sleep is still dragging him down, even with the frigid temperatures and Steve knows that's a bad thing as he shifts his weight to keep himself alert.

"I've got nothing. Hopefully the other Avengers will find us soon and rescue us. In the mean time, you need to stay awake. You're hypothermic and I'm not entirely sure how much blood you've lost. Not a great combination. That sword did some major damage." Tony checks out the wound again and notices Steve starting drifting again as his eyes roll shut "Steve! No sleeping! I'm serious! Wake up soldier!" Steve jerks back to reality. Tony shifts Steve's face to look at him. "Steve, I know you're tired, but I really need you to stay awake. I'm going to go look for anything we can use to start a fire. Your body temperature is getting too low and you're soaked to the bone. Whoever water proofed your suit is going to be fired when we get back. But for now, while I'm gone I need you to _stay awake_. That's a direct order, soldier. No sleeping." Steve weakly nods.

"Say it to me, Cap," Tony demands, pulling the man up off of the ground and leaning him in a sitting position against a large rock near the shore.

"No sleeping," Steve whispers as his body settles into the new position.

"Good," Tony says, satisfied with the answer. He starts his search around the large cavern. Steve shivers and struggles to stay awake. He nearly drifts quite a few times, but his instincts to follow orders kick in and he fights off the blackness.

Tony returns a little while later with an arm full of sticks. "They're wet, but hopefully we can get them to take some kind of a spark." Tony piles a small mound of sticks on the rocky ground and starts striking a couple rocks together to get a spark. Steve watches Tony try to start the fire for quite a while with no luck. Frustration finally ends his attempts when Tony's lack of patience wins out. He lets out an angry yell and throws the rocks across the floor and walks away from the pile of sticks. He paces a couple times and runs his gauntlets though his hair.

"You want some help there, billionaire genius?" Steve rasps with a grin.

"What, you're going to start a fire? Can you even l lift those little rocks right now?" Tony snaps back, but there is no heat to his jab.

"Just help me up." Steve groans. Tony retrieves the rocks and pulls Steve up onto his knees and helps him keep his balance as he nearly pitches forward. Steve strikes the rocks once and is already creating a much larger spark than Tony had been accomplishing. A spark flies into the sticks and starts to smoke. Steve carefully picks up the smoking stack of debris and starts to gently blow air into the small flame. Soon, the flame has engulfed the small amount of debris and Steve carefully places it back into the pile of sticks, adding a few larger sticks to balance over top the flame. Soon the whole pile is up in fire and giving off a comforting glow of heat. Steve's injuries take over and he falls back.

"Alright, that's enough survival tips from you today," Tony helps Cap lay back against the rock again and Tony sits next to him. The soothing warmth of the dancing flame combined with the amount of energy it took to make the fire pushes Steve closer and closer to sleep. Tony notices Steve's breathing slowing and his eyes beginning to close.

"Hey," Tony says as he shoves Steve's shoulder, nearly pushing him over. Steve's eyes open as he catches himself and looks at Tony with tired, weary eyes. "Where did you learn to start a fire like that? Boy Scouts?"

"Eagle scout," Steve smiles. Why didn't that surprise Tony?

"What did Zemo mean when he said that your unforgivable act needed to be punished?" Tony asks, desperate for another question to break the silence and keep Steve' talking.

"What?" Steve mumbles and his eyes begin to close again.

"Tell me why Zemo has this vendetta against you."

Steve shifts uncomfortably. The warmth is so relaxing, but it's bringing his body back to its senses and the pain is coming on strong now. Sitting is putting pressure on his sore ribs and his abdomen is aching from the powerful punch he took to his midsection. Worst of all is his side where the dagger is still sticking out. His flank is burning and throbbing so badly now. He pushes past the pain and, finally answers.

"Zemo is angry we kicked his butt in the war," Steve says as he leans his head back against the rock. "Had a nasty chemical he called Weapon X. Used it against the allies." Steve doesn't have the strength to hold himself up anymore. Tony sees that he's struggling and scoots closer to give him a little more support. "One day we stormed one of his factories where they were making the stuff." Steve pauses and Tony looks over to see that his head has dropped down to his shoulder. Tony nudges Steve and he quickly sits back up. "What happened at the factory?" Tony asks

"He and I were squaring off on a catwalk above the factory," Steve narrows his eyes as he pulls up the old memory. "He managed to throw me to the ground and tried to push my head into a vat of the chemical a few feet below us. He was strong. Stronger than he should have been. I dipped my shield into the chemical and threw it on his face. The mask he wore fused to his face as the chemical burned into his skin."

"That would explain the questionable fashion choice of the hood," Tony says with a smirk.

"He stumbled back," Steve continues, not really hearing Tony's remark. "He grabbed one of his own men and thew him at me, but he ended up going over the railing. The man had grabbed onto the rail and almost fell into the chemical. I grabbed him and pulled him up, but Zemo escaped and that was the last I saw of him back then."

"So he must be pretty pissed with you to still be trying to kill you decades later," Tony says.

"I guess so," Steve shrugs. He can feel is eyes getting heavier and heavier as he struggles to stay awake.

"Pretty wild stories Rogers," Tony says, starting to feel tired himself. Steve doesn't answer and quiet fills the cavern. "Steve?" Tony asks again as he cranes his neck around to look at the solder leaning on his shoulder. Steve's head has fallen to his shoulder again and his eyes are closed. "Rogers!" Tony yells as he pulls himself away from Steve to try to wake him up. Steve's body just slides to the floor in the absence of Tony's shoulder and he doesn't wake. "JARVIS?" Tony yells as he pats Steve's face trying to rouse him.

"My sensors indicate that Captain Rogers' body temperature has risen to 96 degrees and his is stable for the moment. I believe he has simply fallen asleep from exhaustion and fatigue, sir."

"Let him sleep for now, but if anything changes in his vitals, I want to know, JARVIS." Tony says as he shifts Steve into a more comfortable position and Tony leans back into the stone and both fall asleep near the warm fire.

An alarm sounds from Tony's armor and he startles awake. Two hours have passed since they fell asleep and Tony shoots up from his resting spot. "JARVIS? What's going on?"

"Captain Rogers has developed a fever, sir."

"What?" Tony asks in disbelief. "It's literally arctic in here JARVIS and he was also literally freezing to death a short while ago."

"Something is affecting his body's system sir. I highly recommend waking him."

Tony turns to Steve, his face covered in sweat. He's laying on his side, curled in on himself next to the fire. Tony shakes the other man and his head just lolls to the side, unresponsive. Tony pats his face a few times and eventually tries to slap him to simulate him back to reality. Nothing. Tony is desperate to wake him and decides to take desperate measures. "Sorry about this, Steve." He takes his fist and presses firmly into Steve's broken ribs. Steve gasps into a wince as he curls his legs up against the pain, pushing Tony away weakly. Tony's plan to wake Steve up works better thank he meant it to. Steve is in a panic against the pain and seems delirious with his fever.

"Steve, hey, focus on me," Tony says and he tries to still the other man. His words fall on deaf ears because Steve is lost in his fever. He is shivering and shaking as his hands fumble around the dagger in his side, the pain is shooting up and down his body. Tony quickly tires to grab Steve's confused hands, but he's too late. Steve grabs onto the hilt and tries to rotate his body around to pull it out. Lucky for both of them, he pulls on the hilt and yells out in pain, but it doesn't come out. It's deeply lodged into his side as Steve is too weak to remove it. Tony quickly grabs Steve's shaking hands and presses them against Steve's chest. "Easy Cap! Easy!" Tony pleads as he struggles to keep Steve still. "You can't take out the dagger! You'll bleed to death, Steve! It will kill you! Look at me!"

"Tony?" Steve asks through fever-riddled eyes.

"Yeah, Cap. It's me. Just relax."

Steve groans and grits his teeth and tries to reach around again in his fever-induced delusions, but Tony stops him. The area where the dagger is lodged is bleeding pretty well after Steve disrupted the blade.

"Hey Spangles, you've got to leave it until we get out of here." Tony lays a hand on Steve's forehead. "God, you're burning up. How the hell do you have a fever in this freezing hell hole down here?"

"Dunno," Steve whispers as he blinks and tires to focus.

"Lot of help you are," Tony says as he leans back and looks up at the ceiling. "JARVIS, can you do a scan on Steve? What's causing the fever?"

"My sensors are not functioning at 100%, but I am detecting a foreign substance in the Captain's blood. It appears to be some sort of toxin that has been genetically engineered specifically to the Captain's unique physiology."

"What? Where the hell did that come from?"

"Sensors indicate the dagger in Captain Rogers' side as well as the injury on his shoulder have the highest concentrations of the toxin."

Tony looks at Steve's ripped up shoulder. It's swollen and bleeding still. Tony is pretty sure he can see part of Steve's shoulder bone sticking out and he tries to hold down the schwarma he had for lunch earlier that day. There is a weeping, colored discharge coming from the wound and also from the dagger. "Crap," Tony sighs. "You might be getting your wish, Rogers." Steve looks at Tony with a confused look. "It looks like the dagger is also poisoned. The same discharge on your shoulder is starting around the dagger. I need to remove it to keep you from absorbing anymore of the toxin." He grasps the hilt tightly and takes a breath. "Ready?" Tony asks, glancing at Steve. Steve nods, breathing heavily, and closes his eyes. Tony tightens his grip again and in one swift motion he rips the dagger from Steve's side as it begins to flow with blood. Steve lets out a cry of pain as he arches his back and tires to grab his side. Tony tries to hold off the wound and Steve lets out another cry of pain as Tony presses down firmly on the wound.

"Hey, it's over. It's gone, but you need to let me hold this off, Steve!" Tony yells over Steve's panic. Steve suddenly stills and falls to his back, breathing heavily through the pain. His eyes roll back and he blacks out from the shock.

"Cap!" Tony yells at him as he shakes him while holding off the gaping wound. "Wake up Soldier!" He yells at Steve and shakes him roughly again. Tony lifts up his hands from the bleeding wound on Steve's side. The blood has slowed, but it's still coming. He thinks quick and aims his laser at the bleeding gash. "JARVIS, divert power to the laser, 10% power." He carefully burns the exposed tissue, cauterizing the bleeding vessels. Once he has the bleeding under control he pushes himself up to Steve's face. He's sweaty and pale. Tony holds his face in his hands and shakes Steve's head. "Steve!" he calls again as he pries the Soldier's eyes open. His blue eyes are rolled up into the back of his head and his breathing is becoming shallow and quick.

"JARVIS," Tony calls out. "What's Cap's temperature?"

"Captain Rogers' internal body temperature is 104.5 and climbing, sir."

"Dammit."

"You must get his temperature down quickly before he becomes comatose, Sir." Tony unzips Steve's uniform and pulls the heavy kevlar vest off. He quickly pulls off his blue undershirt, trying to not jostle his injured shoulder too much. He takes the two shirts and dips them in the icy water of the pool. He wrings them out and redresses Steve and moves him further away from the fire. Steve shivers against the icy clothes.

"We need to get him out of here, JARVIS. Suggestions?"

"Sir, the best course of action may be to leave the Captain and seek help."

"What? JARVIS, have you lost it?"

"It's the most logical option, Sir. Captain Rogers needs immediate medical attention and you do not currently have the capability to carry his weight or to fly with the damage done to the suit." Tony knows that the AI is right, but he still doesn't like it. The thought of leaving Steve by himself in such a weakened state is terrifying. He returns to the injured soldier's side and tries to wake him again. Steve lets out a soft moan as Tony rolls him from his side to his back, but makes no attempt to regain consciousness.

"I don't know if you can hear me, Cap, but I need to go get you some help. I'll be back as soon as I can, but I need you to hang on and stay here until I get back. Tony gets up and starts walking to the back of the cavern. He takes one last look at the soldier to see if he's moved at all. No movement. Tony continues on down the tunnel as he tries to make his way to help.

"You're alone again," a voice says from behind him. Steve groans as he rolls over, expecting to see Tony. His fever is raging and is body is so tired. He just wants to sleep, but he is drawn out of his stupor with what he sees behind him. "Hi Steve,"

"Bucky?" Steve whispers and his brow furrows. "What are you doing here? How is this possible?"

"I'm here because you, yet again, have gotten into a fight and got your behind kicked," Bucky smiles as he comes and kneels next to Steve. "Even 70 years in the future you still can't walk away from a fight."

"Hey, I didn't get my butt kicked that badly," Steve smiles weakly as he closes his eyes. "Besides, I could do this all day."

"Hey, Steve, no time for sleeping now," Bucky shakes his shoulder and Steve looks at his friend wearily.

"Bucky?" Steve starts as Bucky pulls him into a sitting position to keep him awake.

"Yeah, Steve?" Bucky sits next to him.

"I miss you."

"I miss you too, Steve."

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that I let you down, that I wasn't strong enough to save you." Steve says, not able to look at his friend anymore. "You were counting on me and I let you fall. Even with the super soldier serum, I still wasn't strong enough to help you." A voice suddenly speaks from behind Steve.

"You did let me fall," Another Bucky accuses from across the cavern. His face is pale and wet and ice has formed on his face and clings to his clothes. Steve doesn't understand what is happening. Bucky is sitting next to him, his kind and familiar face looking at him with concern, but now this other man has entered the picture. "You planned that mission. You took me with you and when everything started to fall apart you let me take the fall! You let me die in the ice, Steve!"

"Steve, whoever this is, it's not me. This is your guilt and your grief talking, not me. You need to let this go, Steve." Bucky says from beside Cap, but he is too focused on this new man's accusations.

"Bucky, I swear if I could have traded places with you I would have! I tried to save you! You are like my brother and losing you was something I never recovered from!" Steve's eyes are full of tears as he looks at his icy friend.

"No, you let me fall! You should have planned better! You should have thought of all the possibilities and protected your men. And now you are paying for your failure! It's only fitting you die in an icy grave just like I did. Cold and alone and forgotten!"

"Bucky, I'm so sorry," Steve chokes out before collapsing onto this side from fever and exhaustion, but he can faintly hear the first Bucky's voice speaking to him one last time. "I forgive you, Steve. Don't let your guilt destroy you." The words echo through his mind as Steve passes out.

"….Steve?" a voice calls him out of his stupor again. Steve's half lidded eyes flutter open. His body feels numb and cold and his head is pounding, but all the pain and weakness melt away when he opens his eyes.

"Peggy?" Steve says in shock. "Peggy!" He struggles to his feet, and only just catches himself on the nearby rock before stumbling back to the ground. Peggy rushes to his side and puts her arms around his chest to both embrace and steady him. Steve wraps his arms around her tiny frame and ignores the pain in his shoulder and side. "Peggy, I can't believe you're here. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too, Steve," She smiles, pulling away a bit from Steve's embrace to look at him. "You know, I waited for you at the club. I've never been stood up for a date before." she smiles.

"Oh Peggy," Steve sighs and hangs his head and turns away from her. "I wanted so badly to be there. To dance with you. I had so many dates planned that I wanted to take you on."

Peggy laughs and places her hands on Steve's face and lifts his gaze to her. "Always so hard on yourself, Steve. But if you really want to make it up to me, you will deliver on the dance you owe me."

"I'll try not to step on your toes," Steve smiles. "But I still don't know how to dance."

"I'll show you how," Peggy's eyes lock onto Steve's and she places his hand on the small of her back and wraps her own around his uninjured shoulder. She takes his other hand in hers and slowly they begin to sway back and fourth. Peggy lays her head on Steve's chest and they just dance. Steve doesn't want this moment to end. Soon, the swaying stops and the two just stand together and Steve wraps his arms around her again. All he wants is to stay here in that moment and just hold her close. They stand there together for a long time. Peggy suddenly pulls away from Steve, her eyes filled with fear.

"What's wrong?" Steve asks

"You need to wake up," she warns.

"What are you talking about?" Steve asks, confused and not wanting to leave Peggy.

"You're in danger," Peggy's voice is panicked.

"Peggy, everything is fine. Please, let's just stay here for a little while longer."

"No, Steve, you need to listen to me. There isn't much time. Please, don't blame yourself for leaving me. You did what you had to do and I never once blamed you for the decision you made that day. I had a good life and now I want you to have the same. You have to let me go. You're in danger."

"No, Peggy, I can't let you go. Not again." Steve pleads as he holds her closer to him.

"Steve," she says as she caresses his face with her soft hand. "I love you."

"I love you too," he whispers and he holds her face in his hands and they kiss one last time.

"Steve," Peggy says. "Please, you have to let me go."

Steve gasps and jerks up from the ground, covered in sweat and panting. The fever and weakness instantly flood him and he remembers where he is and what happened. Peggy's warning flashes into his memory and he stumbles to his feet and grabs his shield from the shore, shaking and full of the emotions he just experienced. He can hear foot steps coming closer. Too many to be Tony and the Avengers returning. He limps his way to the edge of the cavern, holding his arm to his chest while his shoulder and side object to the movement. Whoever the footsteps belong to will be here shortly and he needs to find cover. There's no way that he can take on an army in his current state. Steve musters what little strength he has and jumps up to grab onto a ledge at the edge of the cave. He tries not to make a noise as he painfully pulls himself up onto the small ledge. From there he continues to climb until he's about 15 feet off the ground and covered behind a line of boulders. Once safely behind the rocks he collapses and tries to catch is breath, but is instantly stilled when he hears a voice call from below.

"Captain!" the voice calls. "I know you are down here somewhere!. I must speak to you about the damage you have done to my compound. I have been searching for you for quite some time now, so please come out so I may finish my business with you." Steve rolls onto his stomach with a great deal of effort and peers around the rocks and sees Zemo with at least two dozen soldiers with him. Steve leans his forehead on his hand on ground. He doesn't seem to be able to catch a break today.

"I thought you might not want to talk to me with how injured you are, so I have brought something to motivate you," Zemo announces. The army parts and a small child is pushed forward in front of Zemo. Steve's eyes go wide at the sight. The little girl has her hands tied and she's filthy and shivering. "If you do not come out I will be forced to stop this small creature's suffering, Captain." Zemo pulls his sword from his side and holds it threateningly to the little girl's chest.

Steve doesn't hesitate for a second. He jumps out from behind the boulders, landing more roughly on the ground. Gritting his teeth and wincing with the shooting pain, he throws his shield up to the rocks he just jumped from and hits the cliff, shattering the rocks. He quickly catches his shield and runs as the rocks above start to crumble and roll down the cave wall. The rocks start to roll faster and faster and head toward the army with Steve ahead of them with his shield up to block the onslaught of bullets flying at him. He grabs the little girl and immediately runs off to the right, out of the path of the rocks that are tumbling and crushing enemy soldiers in their wake. He sets the girl down behind a large ice block and tells her to stay there and not to move, no matter what. He turns and is immediately hit with a blast of heat on his thigh. The force knocks his feet out from under him and he lands on his stomach. His leg is hissing against the cold air and smoke is rising up from the ugly blistered wound. Steve rolls onto his back and tries to inspect the wound, but before he has a chance a hand comes down and grabs him and throws him against an unforgiving pillar of ice extending from the floor to the ceiling of the cave. The impact knocks the wind out of him and he lands on his side, curling in on himself and coughing, trying to breath. A boot comes flying at his face and he quickly catches it and twists. A snap is heard and the soldier cries out and falls to the ground, holding his broken ankle. Steve pulls himself up with a great deal of effort and raises his shield just in time to block another blast from the nasty weapon that had burned his arm and leg. The force knocks him back into the middle of the pool of water. Steve breaks through the surface of the water and struggles to keep his head up combined with his already failing strength and the shock of the icy water. Zemo runs out to meet him as Steve crawling back to the shore. Zemo grabs him and pushes him under the water. Steve thrashes against the other man as darkness begins to creep in around his vision. At the last second, Zemo pulls him up out of the water and he coughs and gasps in air desperately.

"Struggle all you want, Captain, "Zemo lets out an evil laugh. "You are all alone this time and vengeance will be mine." Zemo pushes him under the water again and soon the Steve stills under the water, too exhausted to fight any longer. The noise and light above the water begin to fade away when a flash of lightning bursts above the water and suddenly strong hand pulls him up to the air. Steve sputters and coughs up water while he swings and struggles wildly at the body grabbing him from the water.

"Take it easy, Cap!" Tony yells, struggling to hang onto the floundering Soldier as Thor runs up behind them. "It's me! I've got you!."

"Tony!" Steve coughs and looks up at the Iron Man mask. "Where the hell were you?"

"Went and got the cavalry," he says, looking up and pointing to Thor and the other Avengers that are rushing into the cavern, taking out Zemo's men easily.

"There's a little girl that Zemo captured. She's behind the rock at the rear of the cave."

"Don't worry, we'll get her." Tony signals Thor and he rushes over to find the girl. "Let's get you out of the water." Tony hoists the Soldier up and throws his arm over his shoulder. Steve flinches and his muscles tense. "Sorry," Tony says. Another blast from that damn heat gun flies at them and hits Tony, throwing him back into the water and sending Steve flying off to the side, landing roughly on the rocky shore. Tony's screen is flashing damage reports in front of his face. The shoulder armor took the brunt of the damage and the joints are melting into themselves. Luckily the water instantly cooled the metal before it melted through to his skin, but now the armor is locked up and he can't move his arm. Tony raises his other arm up and fires at the soldier holding the smoking gun. Steve is laying with his back to Tony, on his side in the shallow shore, not moving. Zemo is standing over him with a gun poised over the still soldier.

"Avengers!" Zemo yells over the chaos. "I highly suggest you all stop what you are doing unless you would like to have one less team member to carry home tonight." All the Avengers freeze at Zemo's threat. He picks up the the dazed Captain America by the neck and Steve chokes and struggles, trying to pull himself free as his hands grasp around Zemo's forearm. "All of you need to walk away from here and do not return. You have my word that I will leave your Captain here without further injury for you to retrieve after I have escaped."

"Put him down, Villain," Thor threatens with his hammer at the ready.

"I shall put him down after you leave, Thunderer."

"No deal," Clint snaps, keeping an arrow trained on Zemo. "Forgive me if I don't have much confidence in your 'word.' We're bringing you in and you're going to have a lot of alone time in a tiny SHIELD cell." The archer takes a step closer.

"Ah, ah, ah," Zemo warns as he pushes the gun closer to Steve's chest. "Remember, that I still have the upper hand in this situation. I would keep your distance unless you want your Captain to have another injury to recover from or, perhaps, sustain one from which he cannot recover." The archer backs off and a smug smirk spreads across Zemo's face. Everyone is shocked when suddenly Steve gathers a last push of strength and knocks the gun out of Zemo's hand and Clint and Tony seize the opportunity, firing a repulser blast and an arrow at the shocked man. The arrow hits him square in the shoulder, causing him to drop Steve and the repulser blast sends him flying to the ground.

The Avengers all rush the two men in an instant. Thor, Hulk, and Natasha cover Zemo with guns, fists, and hammer trained on the man, making sure that he stays down. Clint rushes over to Steve with Tony.

Steve is hazily aware of small cold waves of water splashing against the side of his face. Normally the cold would have bothered him, but it feels so cool and soothing against his burning leg and fever. Something pulls him onto his back and he hears muddled voices talking over his head as swirls of fuzzy images and blurs of color flash through his vision. Something is touching his neck checking for a pulse and something else is patting his face as he tries to focus, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't make his eyes pull the images together. There's a sharp stab of pain in his abdomen and shoulder and he gasps as someone is prodding at his wounded side. Steve blindly grabs at his side when something grabs his arms and holds them downt. His breathing quickens as his side and shoulder are inspected. The pain intensifies as he's pulled up to sit and his shirt is pulled off. His head is so heavy and his chin slumps forward to his chest. He is too exhausted and delirious to hold in the groans of discomfort while his injuries are tightly bandaged. Eventually, relief comes and his body lets go against the constant wave of pain, and Steve passes out. The next thing he remembers is feeling like he's floating. His body being held and his head bobbing back against a strong arm with each step. He looks up to see Thor's face looking down at him.

"Be at peace, Captain," Thor assures. "We have you and we are bringing you home." Steve tries to say something to Thor, but nothing comes and sleep overtakes him again.

Flashes of moments continue to come and go. One of him on the Quinjet, Clint leaning over him attaching something to his chest and Natasha putting something soothing and cold on his forehead. Then bright lights passing overhead as he's pushed down a hallway. Steady beeping wakes him next. An unfamiliar face holds a mask on his face and sharp needles are poking his arms while people are rushing in a frenzy around him. The unfamiliar woman tells him to just breath slowly and then everything goes dark.

Tony is sitting in a chair next to the sleeping form of Captain America. Cords and IV lines are littering the area around the bed and monitors are beeping and reading vitals. Steve starts to become aware of his surroundings. He can feel the oxygen mask pressing on his face. There's a dull ache covering the majority of his body. His leg and arm are covered in thick bandages where he had been burned and he can feel something wrapped very tightly around his abdomen and chest. His ribs ache every time he breaths in and his neck is sore and raw. Something is keeping his arm bent and still against his chest. He starts to shift and stir with the discomfort and Tony is at his side in an instant.

"Good morning, Starshine," Tony greets while placing a hand on his uninjured shoulder. "The earth says hello." Steve blinks a few times and furrows his eyebrows at Tony's strange greeting. "Never mind," he dismisses, his wit, once again, lost on Steve. "How are you feeling?"

"Never better," Steve whispers hoarsely through the oxygen mask. He notices how odd his voice sounds, muffled from the mask and rough from being choked. He reaches up and pulls the mask off of his face to talk. "How long have I been out?" he rasps.

"Few days," Tony answers as he reaches over and replaces the mask on Steve's nose and mouth. "You came out of surgery about 2 days ago and your fever finally broke yesterday. We had a hard time flushing Zemo's poison out of your system."

"Zemo," Steve's eyes widen and he jerks up, pulling his mask off again. "Did he get away? Did you find the little girl?"

"Whoa, easy there, Turbo," Tony says pushing Steve back down into bed with surprising ease. Steve was in no condition to refuse and even Tony could muscle him down right now. The simple movement was enough to exhaust whatever strength he had and he sagged against the pillow. "You really need to leave this on," Tony orders as he replaces the oxygen mask again. "We caught Zemo and we found the girl. She was fine, thanks to you. We returned her to her family before we took off." Steve weakly nods in relief. Memories he had while in the cave creep to the surface. He remembers dancing with Peggy and Bucky forgiving him. He wonders if it was all the fever, his own imagination or if it was really possible for someone to speak to someone else from the other side. Maybe it didn't really matter. Maybe there was a truth to the words that were said that Steve needed to grab hold of them and run with it. Tony can see the far off look in Steve's eyes. "You going to be okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," Steve answers. "Yeah, I think I will be."

Bruce walks in shortly after to check in. Steve is obviously uncomfortable, but is putting his regular stoic face on over it. Bruce insists that Steve accept pain management and he is optimistic it will provide at least a little relief. Since his body is already so taxed in healing and weakened from the toxin, he theorizes that his metabolism won't burn through the drugs quite as fast. In the end Bruce and Tony didn't give Steve a choice and he pushes a clear liquid into Steve's IV. Steve can feel the cold liquid flow into his arm and his tense muscles relax against the bed.

"See, isn't that better?" Tony smiles. Steve give a little nod and smiles weakly, suddenly aware of the IV in his arm as he drowsily starts poking at it. Tony can't help but laugh at the sight of Captain America getting a little high on pain medication and Bruce trying to keep him from pulling out his IV. Steve is momentarily distracted by the probe monitor attached to his finger and Bruce draws up a sedative. Steve messes with the buttons on his hospital bed while Bruce administers the drug. Despite Bruce pushing his hands away, he manages to call in 3 separate nurses 3 times in a row and raise the bed up about half way before the drug finally starts to kicks in and he starts to get tired. Steve sighs deeply and promptly passes out, sagging against the plastic side of the bed.

"Kid's tough," Bruce smirks. "I just gave him enough to knock down a small elephant." Bruce presses the button on the bed's control panel and it slowly lowers itself back down and he readjusts Steve back to the middle of the bed.

"Captain America, flying high," Tony shakes his head and laughs. "Never thought I'd see the day. But if anyone deserves a little something to take the edge off, it's him. He's been through the ringer today." Tony walks over and pats Steve's uninjured shoulder.

"Yeah," Bruce agrees. "He'll be out for the next few hours. We should let him rest." Tony nods and the two leave Steve to sleep and dream of his dance with Peggy and his time with Bucky and their wishes for him to be happy again.


End file.
